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The Western Australian Government has flagged its support for a potential Perth-based National Rugby League (NRL) franchise, with work underway to identify a third-party bid.

With the NRL to expand to 17 teams in 2023 with the addition of the Redcliffe Dolphins, the Western Australian Government has the expectation the competition will further grow to 18 teams in the following years.

With this in mind it has established a cross-agency working group chaired by Parliamentarian Peter Tinley has been established to help facilitate the development of a third-party bid and, where necessary, assist the bid through the potential bidding process.

Preliminary work has already begun with VenuesWest appointing consultants Freshwater Strategy to ascertain interest from potential third parties and determine the most appropriate bid structure.

A Western Australian Government statement advised that “the inclusion of a WA team would deliver significant economic and tourism benefits through the attraction of interstate visitors and exposure of the state to large television audiences on the east coast.

“A local NRL team would also provide an opportunity to further grow participation in community rugby league which - with 4,100 registered players - is the game's third biggest jurisdiction behind the traditional strongholds of NSW and Queensland.

“While an 18th team would provide the NRL with an additional weekly fixture, a WA-based team has an added benefit of an additional TV timeslot given our time zone.”

Western Australian Sport and Recreation Minister, David Templeman commented “two recent sell out State of Origin Fixtures demonstrate that there is a strong and growing appetite for rugby league in Western Australia.

"Although the State Government won't be leading the bid or responsible for a potential franchise, we are confident that there will be a strong and compelling case for a WA-based team.”

Tinley added “there are so many West Australian rugby league fans who are looking forward to the day when they can support a WA-based team.

"WA has strong foundations to support an NRL franchise with participation in the sport behind only NSW and Queensland, and encouragingly, nearly a quarter of all registered players are female.”

Western Australian Government provides $2.1 million grassroots sport and recreation clubs
The Western Australian Government has also advised that local governments can apply for funding to improve the governance, planning and management practices of clubs.

Applications for funding up to $50,000 per annum for three years to support sport and recreation clubs and their volunteers to build their organisational capacity and capability are now open, closing on 23rd November.

The Every Club Grant Scheme,  administered by the Western Australian Department of Local Government and Communities and is one of the four key initiatives of the Every Club Program, which includes:

• Every Club Hub - access to online information and resources for clubs;
• Every Club Network - networking and professional development opportunities for club development professionals in local government authorities and State Sporting Associations;
• Every Club Education - learning and development opportunities for clubs and members of the sport and recreation workforce; and
• Every Club Grant Scheme - investment in local government authorities and State Sporting Associations to create and implement club development plans.

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